INTERVIEW: Who Is Walker McGuire? | Everything You Need To Know
By Nicole Mastrogiannis
March 10, 2017
Nashville is often the birth place of a lot of great music -- and even the formation of some music groups, like Walker McGuire. The country music duo met in Music City, USA shortly after both moving there from their respective hometowns, and hitting it off at a writer's night. The rest was history. Today, the guys, Jordan Walker and Johnny McGuire, have released their new single "Til Tomorrow," and are bringing their music all over the country on tour.
We recently caught up with Walker McGuire at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, and during an exclusive interview, we learned about how they met, what brought them each to Nashville, what fans can expect from their music, and more.
On how they began as a band & early history
Jordan moved to Nashville after playing music in Texas. He received the advice that if he wanted to really pursue a career in music, Nashville was the place to be. He tells us, "I saved up a little bit of money and made the run."
Similarly, Johnny knew that Nashville was one of the cities to move to if he wanted to try music professionally, and he says, being from the midwest, it was the best option over places like New York or L.A. "Being from the Midwest, Nashville seemed like a little bit of a better of a place than L.A. or New York, at least for my type of personality. So, this is where I ended up."
After both Jordan and Johnny finally made the move to Nashville, the two crossed paths at a writer's night. Jordan tells us, "We were over in the West Inn in Nashville, just playing some songs. We sat there about four hours and played one song. We just happened to be put together on stage, and so, it worked out. [We] wrote a song a few days later and everything just kinda started rolling."
On what the sound of their music is like
Jordan and Johnny explain that the sound of their music is a mix of genres and artists including classic country, rock n' roll, Keith Whitley, Tom Petty, Matchbox 20, and more. Johnny says, "[Johnny's] more classic country, and I'm more rock n' roll. So we like to say it's like if Keith Whitley met Tom Petty at an intersection, and Matchbox 20 was there, that blend of the three."
Jordan followed up with, "And if they all hung out, that would be our music. I listened [and] grew up on Keith, Willie, all that old school country. He grew up on Tom Petty and Bob Dylan. So if you were put those two together you would think, 'This shouldn't work.' But, it happens to. And then we both agreed on Matchbox 20, because who doesn't love them?"
There's plenty more music on the way from Walker McGuire. The guys say they have a new single set to be released in the spring, and they are traveling all over the country. Jordan tells us, "The single coming out this spring, in the summer and just playing more shows. We are going to be out there all the time. We're traveling everywhere from east to west, and north to south. We love playing on the road."